The other day, my friend Andrea casually uttered a passing sentence that really shouldn’t have blown my mind.

“I’m thinking about moving to Seattle after graduation,” she said.

“WHAAAT?!” I squawked. “What would you do?!”

“I don’t know, find a job?” she said as I shook my head incredulously. “I just love the city; I think it would be really cool to live there.”

Back story – Andrea and I study magazine publishing, which means that for four years we’ve basically had it pounded into our heads from all directions (in a friendly way) that we have little choice about where to live in the future – it’s New York or bust.

So the idea of doing anything other than what we’re supposed to do sounded completely crazy. In my life (and, I can only assume, in many of your lives as well), it’s all about what I Should be doing, and to hell with whether I’m enjoying myself.

But after my brief conversation with Andrea, I realized that at this point in life, when it comes to our futures, it’s time to stop saying “Should” and start thinking about what we really want.

My immediate family contains the perfect examples. My brother went to school for sound recording but discovered his love of wine after graduation, and now he’s the general manager of a wine bar. My dad rejected a job offer as a nuclear physicist after graduating because he loved working in his college’s admissions office – he went on to work in admissions for a happy 20 years. My mom studied (gasp!) journalism and enjoyed a healthy career in public relations before going back to school in her 40s and becoming a college English professor.

I’m not quite ready to follow in their footsteps and turn my back on the last four years – plus I really like what I’m doing and don’t see any more attractive options. But it’s comforting and exciting to realize that if something outside journalism or even simply outside New York comes up, it’s not off limits just because it’s off the plan. And if a journalism job comes up that doesn’t appeal to me, I won’t take it just because I probably Should.

That’s one reason why you’re currently reading my last column. I probably Should keep writing it, but while it’s been a great and challenging experience, it’s just not something I really enjoy doing. There’s no shame in admitting that, right?

Of course, there are some Shoulds which you can’t ignore – you Should work hard, you Should be kind to others, you Should Not post pictures on Facebook of your friend passed out on your couch with “Balls” written across his forehead.

But in your own life, seek out what makes you truly happy. As clichéd as it sounds, don’t be afraid to think outside your own box, even if that box seems to fit.

In the immortal words of Napoleon Dynamite (whom I can’t believe I’m quoting at all, much less in a column), it’s time to do “whatever I feel like I wanna do! Gosh!”